>> madam chair, thank you. i'm pleased to join you and senator coats and senator mccloseky, to welcome this distinguished panel of witnesses. the senators from the areas that have been affected by these very serious damages are here to tell us what we need to know about the practical consequences of the storms and we want to hear from them, and i welcome them to joan you, welcoming all of our witnesses here here today. >> thank you. senator mccullskey. >> ma cam chairwoman, thank you for having this hearing. i think at this time as we go into the holiday season of hanukkah and the season of lights, there isn't a lot of light in our communities. senators in the coastal area really appreciate this. madam chair, it's a sad day in maryland and senator harden will be speaking, speaking for the efforts of maryland, the people of maryland, we've got one really sad day today. we, maryland woke up to this headline -- "u.s. denies aid to maryland storm victims." this is the picture of the maryland in the storm. i won't s